Poisoned at Christmas | The Christmas Killings hosted by Nancy Grace | Forensic Files

[chiming music] NANCY GRACE: Scott Dell dreams of a white Christmas with his three children.
Scott was an amazing father. He was very nurturing. KEN LEPPERT: He was enamored with Cherrylle
and willing to do anything for her. NANCY GRACE: But on a silent night a few days
after Christmas, his life slowly slips away. The body was partially clothed in the fetal position.
DWAYNE SEARS: This is where it starts to get dark and go off the tracks. NANCY GRACE: A mysterious death raises suspicion, fear, and even
hate in a small Canadian town. Murder is something you don't expect. It's so dark.
It's so sinister. DARCY NICOL: Your Spidey senses go off, and you're like, there's more to this, absolutely.
[fire crackling] KEN LEPPERT: Her home was ablaze, and she was believed to be inside, dead.
NANCY GRACE: Police must accept, the murder weapon is actually wrapped up as a Christmas present.
DWAYNE SEARS: I was a little bit incredulous as this happened in Killaloe. ELSA STEENBERG: I think I was still in shock at that time.
The whole thing was so unbelievable. [ominous music] [theme music] [christmas music]
Hello, I'm Nancy Grace. Christmas is a magical time of the year. Who doesn't love baking gingerbread men,
visiting Santa with your children, decorating the Christmas tree with your family?
People celebrate Christmas all over the world. But in Canada, it's really special.
There, you'll find a village covered in snow, straight off the cover of a Currier
and Ives Christmas card. GINA GLAUB: Killaloe is a small town in Ontario. When you talk about people that want
to escape the big city life, this would definitely be the place for them. Citizens that live there enjoy a quiet, peaceful winter,
a very cold Canadian winter. NANCY GRACE: Scott Dell is an American living in the Canadian town of Killaloe.
Christmas 1995 is not a joyous time for Scott. He is separated from his wife, Cherrylle, and spending
Christmas with her parents. But he's got to wait until December 29 to exchange presents with his children.
GINA GLAUB: Scott's children were alarmed and very upset when he failed to pick them
up as planned. He was excited to see his kids. It was very unlike him to not show up.
A close friend of his actually went out to the farmhouse to check on Scott [phone rings]
KEN LEPPERT: On December 29, 1995, the OPP received a call from a witness who reported that she
had attended at a friend's farmhouse outside of the village of Killaloe. GINA GLAUB: She was rather shaken and hysterical.
She had found him deceased. She had tried to revive him. But it was pretty clear that he had been gone for a while,
and there was not any hope for bringing him back. [siren blaring] KEN LEPPERT: The OPP responded by sending two police officers
in uniform to the farmhouse. Found the farmhouse unlocked, entered the home. As they went through the home, in the living room,
they found a turntable still spinning with a long play album on the turntable. There was remnants of candles that had been burned.
They also found a 1.5-liter bottle of Piat D'Or wine on a desk, along with several pages of handwritten notes that
made very little sense to them. They found a body in a bedroom upstairs in the farmhouse,
deceased on the floor. The body was in the fetal position. There was vomit near the body.
The body was identified as Scott Dell. As part of the initial death investigation,
there was no obvious signs of foul play. GINA GLAUB: There wasn't really anything suspicious
about this scene, but there was a bottle of wine that was found. And it was white wine, but the wine
had a yellowish green tint to it, which was just unnatural. [suspenseful music] The police took the bottle of wine, the wine glass,
and the handwritten notes, hoping that maybe they would explain this death a little better.
The body was removed from the home and transported to a local funeral home here in Killaloe.
[dramatic music] ELSA STEENBERG: This friend of mine phoned me and said Scott died, and I didn't believe her.
I drove over to Scott's place, and of course, it was all taped with police tape.
I think I was still in shock at that time. The whole thing was so unbelievable. He was my best friend.
He's originally from Connecticut. And his parents encouraged him to move to avoid the draft.
He was a very gentle person, soft spoken, and he was super intelligent. NANCY GRACE: 1969, Scott Dell meets a small town
Canadian teenager at a party. Her name is Cherrylle. ELSA STEENBERG: Cherrylle was absolutely beautiful.
She was always perfect in her appearance. Her hair was perfect, her makeup. So she was quite the sight.
Scott was totally in love with her. Scott was 20 years old, and Cherrylle was 17 when they married.
Scott and Cherrylle Dell buy a small farm in Killaloe, and they raised three children.
21 years later, they separate when Cherrylle decides to explore other relationships.
ELSA STEENBERG: Scott loved Cherrylle enough to accept her having sex with other people.
All he wanted was her to come back. And it's just a phase. She'll get past it. [ominous music]
KEN LEPPERT: Immediately after they left the farmhouse, officers interviewed Scott's estranged wife, Cherrylle Dell.
GINA GLAUB: Cherrylle explains to the police that Scott had been struggling with mouth and throat
cancer, a battle that had been going on for quite some time. She felt that his death was likely
a result of his cancer battle. KEN LEPPERT: Locally, it was known to police and the coroner
that Scott had cancer of the throat. The coroner issued a death certificate, naming
cancer as a cause of death. NANCY GRACE: Cherrylle Dell tells police husband, Scott, wanted to be cremated after his death.
KEN LEPPERT: The local coroner released the body to Cherrylle. The body was transported to a crematorium in Ottawa.
[suspenseful music] Scott's family traveled from Connecticut and arrived within days of his death.
When they were made aware of the reported cause of his death being cancer, they were very concerned.
The family believed that he was in remission and pushed for a further fact-finding mission
around the cause of Scott's death. NANCY GRACE: But Scott Dell's body has been released for cremation.
It may have already happened. ELSA STEENBERG: But by the grace of god, it was Christmas,
and the crematorium was not open. So the police retrieved his body from the crematorium.
GINA GLAUB: His body was being kept in a storage shed that lacked insulation. The cold Canadian winter helped to preserve his body,
freezing it solid. And Scott's family ordered an autopsy. NANCY GRACE: The cold Canadian winter at Christmas time
turns out to be a break in the police investigation. The lab results from the autopsy reveal a stunning fact.
KEN LEPPERT: His death was not caused by cancer. The coroner was able to confirm that there was
no signs of active cancer in his throat or in his neck area and that there was no tumor.
GINA GLAUB: What was even more shocking were the results of the toxicology screen.
Scott had ethylene glycol present in his blood, which is the main ingredient in antifreeze.
NANCY GRACE: Traces of antifreeze are found in the wine bottle at the farmhouse.
GINA GLAUB: When the uniformed officers returned to Cherrylle's home to inform her of the autopsy results,
she tells them that Scott had been depressed. The two were estranged, and he was spending the holidays alone.
She suggested the possibility that Scott had committed suicide. KEN LEPPERT: They realized that Scott
was alone at the farmhouse. He would have been the only one present when he was drinking, what they believe to be the toxic mix
leading up to his death. NANCY GRACE: Police find paper in Scott Dell's handwriting at the scene.
They assume it's a suicide note. KEN LEPPERT: The officers left the investigation as a suicide
at that point. Not everyone is convinced Scott Dell would take his own life. GINA GLAUB: Scott's friends and family brought up the question,
why would this man, who had spent so much time valiantly fighting his cancer, then commit suicide?
Scott was determined to be there for his children. I didn't think it was suicide.
I never believed it. [serene piano] NANCY GRACE: For the family of Scott Dell, the New Year of 1996
brings tragic news. Police in Ontario rule Scott has taken his own life just three days after Christmas by drinking
a bottle of poisoned wine. Scott Dell's family and close friends, however, remember how he fought for his life during his cancer scare,
and they wonder, why would he give up now? Was another Christmas without wife Cherrylle
just too much for him to bear? At Scott's funeral on a cold day in January, wife, Cherrylle, doesn't seem that mournful.
All eyes on her as she turns the sad occasion into a celebration. [suspenseful music]
ELSA STEENBERG: At the funeral home in Killaloe, she came in sitting in a wheelchair
because she had had a skateboard accident. And she had cast around her leg, and it was decorated with rabbit
fur and Christmas decorations. I was very sad. KIM MEISEL: I kind of kept to the back at the funeral.
And when Cherrylle made this dramatic entrance, I just-- I had this sick feeling in my stomach of how dare can she
come there with Scott's family there, and yet it was all about her. She played this widow, dramatic widow.
I felt like I was going to vomit. [eerie music] NANCY GRACE: One year later, Ken Leppert
joins the Killaloe detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police as a detective. KEN LEPPERT: In March of 1997, a woman called the detachment
asking to speak to a detective. It was around 4:30 in the afternoon, and I was about to leave.
I took the call. And I remember hearing a lady's voice on the other end of the call, who I
now know to be Nancy Fillmore. She was very distressed, anxious. Nancy started to report a number of different crimes, credit
card frauds, insurance frauds. And she eventually named Cherrylle Dell. By her own admission, she was an accomplice
in many of these crimes. And before we end the conversation, she adds in, there is also a murder involved in this.
But she didn't know if she could talk about it because of her own legal jeopardy.
So I encourage her to come in and provide me with a video statement. NANCY GRACE: The next day.
Nancy Fillmore sits down with Detective Leppert. KEN LEPPERT: We treated her as appropriately
as we could under the law, as both a witness and a potential accused person. [unsettling music]
Nancy and Cherrylle had been involved in an intimate relationship and had lived together at a home on Mill
Street in Killaloe and that that relationship had recently been terminated, not by Nancy's choice
but by Cherrylle's. DARCY NICOL: Cherrylle was like a chameleon. One minute she would be blond on a skateboard and dating a man.
The next minute, she would be dark hair dating a female. NANCY GRACE: Nancy Fillmore and Cherrylle
Dell meet in spring of 1995, months before Scott's death. Cherrylle has responded to a personal ad Nancy placed,
looking for a female partner. And the two women quickly become lovers. ELSA STEENBERG: I believe the reason that Cherrylle and Nancy
became lovers is because Nancy had some money, and Cherrylle wanted to buy a house.
NANCY GRACE: Scott Dell has sole possession of the farm where he and Cherrylle lived together.
He also has custody of the children. DWAYNE SEARS: Nancy tells us that Scott was not a good person.
Scott was abusive, physically abusive, that he was sexually abusive towards Cherrylle,
their children, and as well as foster children that they had in their home. Nancy explained that Cherrylle was happy that her estranged
husband was diagnosed with cancer because now, she could get the things that she wanted, the farmhouse and the children,
upon Scott's death without a legal battle. KEN LEPPERT: Nancy had relayed to us how much she feared and disdained Scott,
and that there was nothing that the system would do to stop him from continuing to be a threat to their family.
[suspenseful music] NANCY GRACE: When Detective Ken Leppert investigates Scott Dell's background, he finds
a long history of serious allegations made by Cherrylle Dell. KEN LEPPERT: We uncovered that early in the 1990s,
Cherrylle made a series of allegations against Scott, alleging that he had assaulted her as a domestic partner,
that he had sexually assaulted their children and other children that they were in the care of.
DARCY NICOL: Cherrylle, making that accusation against Scott, it ultimately is trying to destroy him, his reputation,
and make sure that he has zero contact with any of the kids ever again, and trying to get him completely off the scene.
And it didn't work. Scott was completely exonerated of all the allegations as well as granted custody of the children.
NANCY GRACE: Cherrylle Dell has very little money when husband Scott's granted custody of the children
and possession of the farm. Nancy Fillmore tells police she and Cherrylle Dell commit credit card and insurance fraud just to make ends meet.
KIM MEISEL: Cherrylle could make her do anything. And I used to say to Nancy, what are you doing?
I told her, get out. You've got to get out. It's gonna get worse. KEN LEPPERT: Several days after Nancy provided
those initial statements, there was a call to the OPP asking for assistance in keeping the peace.
ELSA STEENBERG: Nancy had moved out, and she went there with police escort to get her things out of Cherrylle's and her house.
DWAYNE SEARS: Detective Leppert and I went to her house, and Cherrylle invites us into the home.
We have a conversation with her. And she's very, very gregarious, flamboyant. KEN LEPPERT: Cherrylle was unrattled
by Nancy, whereas Nancy was very upset, very anxious. GINA GLAUB: Cherrylle brings out two
black trash bags that she says have Nancy's belongings in them. When Nancy looks inside, though, she finds actual garbage
and becomes infuriated. Filled with rage, she blurts out that she knows for a fact
that Cherrylle killed Scott. Nancy made several utterances to Cherrylle, including the fact that she knew that she had killed Scott.
KIM MEISEL: Nancy said, I could have stopped it. He'd still be alive if I would have stopped it.
NANCY GRACE: Three days after Christmas 1995, families in the small town of Killaloe are still celebrating.
Scott Dell is not. Police believe he committed suicide by drinking himself to death.
There are whispers throughout the town, Scott would never have killed himself. His death is officially ruled a suicide.
Now, two years later, a woman named Nancy Fillmore claims Cherrylle Dell murdered her late husband.
But can her story hold up under police questioning? KEN LEPPERT: She was clearly a jilted lover.
There was no doubt about that. She could be motivated to fabricate allegations against Cherrylle from that perspective.
I read over the postmortem examination report, the initial death investigation. It was certainly a set of facts that did not rule out
the potential for a homicide. NANCY GRACE: Nancy Fillmore tells investigators Cherrylle Dell hatches a plan to kill her husband,
Scott, over Christmas. Cherrylle Dell convinces Nancy, Scott Dell is a sex predator,
so Nancy does not stand in the way. GINA GLAUB: When Scott beat the odds and went into remission,
it infuriated Cherrylle. Nancy explains that at some point, Cherrylle learned that antifreeze was toxic to animals,
but at the same time, it was sweet in taste. KEN LEPPERT: It was reported by numerous witnesses
that she actually experimented with poisoning one of her own cats. ELSA STEENBERG: And the neighbor brought the cat to the vet,
and the vet said it had consumed antifreeze. KEN LEPPERT: That cat was euthanized
at the veterinarian's office. Cherrylle Dell knows just how much antifreeze she needs to kill a cat.
Her next step is to calculate the amount she needs to kill a man. DWAYNE SEARS: Nancy told us about Cherrylle
making inquiries with the poison control center in Ottawa. GINA GLAUB: She told poison control
that she had a special needs brother who had accidentally consumed two bottles of automotive antifreeze,
and she was wondering if this was lethal or what she should do. DWAYNE SEARS: The key part for us
was that she actually gave Scott's weight, 130 pounds, as her brother's weight. Poison control person told her to immediately
get to the hospital, that it could be lethal. And I think that's all Cherrylle needed
to know because the operator from poison control also called the hospitals to let them
know that this person was coming in, to get them heads up. And no one appeared. NANCY GRACE: December 1995, Cherrylle Dell
sends Nancy Fillmore out shopping with very clear instructions. She tells Nancy to buy a Christmas present for Scott.
Nancy actually goes to Walmart with Cherrylle's direction. She purchased antifreeze, knowing that Cherrylle was going
to use it to poison Scott. And then Cherrylle sends Nancy to the liquor store where she purchased a magnum of Piat D'Or white wine,
takes it back to the home on Mill Street. They empty some of the contents, and they spike
it with automotive antifreeze. [surging music] NANCY GRACE: On December 28, Scott returns
from a trip out of town. He drops by Cherrylle and Nancy's home to pick up his Christmas gift, a bottle of wine.
GINA GLAUB: The fact that she had bought him a Christmas gift probably elated him.
Cherrylle told Scott that she wanted him to go home and drink this bottle of wine
while they were on the phone together. She presented this gift as more than just
simply a bottle of wine but more as a means of reconciliation between the two. KEN LEPPERT: He didn't have taste buds
as a result of the radiation treatment, so he wouldn't be able to detect the off taste
that the antifreeze would have caused to the wine. [ominous music] Scott began to consume the wine while talking to Cherrylle
for approximately nine hours of broken conversation and note taking about the prospect of them
rekindling their marriage. GINA GLAUB: Scott wanted so badly to have his family back
together for the holidays, and this really made him vulnerable to Cherrylle's manipulation.
At 4:00 AM, after nine hours on the phone, Scott was starting to slur his words.
He was starting to retch and wasn't feeling well at all. He wanted to go and lay down, but he never made it to his bed.
KEN LEPPERT: Nancy was very engaged in the whole process and was telling us how she was not
only taking it all in but very nervous about what was happening. GINA GLAUB: She could hear Cherrylle's side
of this conversation, and she knew that Cherrylle was talking to him as he died.
KIM MEISEL: She hung up the phone and turned to Nancy and said, if you speak one word of this, you're next.
[suspenseful music] KEN LEPPERT: When Nancy formalizes her statement and in detail about the homicide,
it became a formal homicide investigation. Cherrylle started to try to plant seeds
to suggest that Nancy was the sole killer of Scott Dell. NANCY GRACE: Nancy Fillmore is devastated when Cherrylle
Dell breaks up with her. Cherrylle Dell has a brand new lover, a young man named Brent Crawford.
Ontario detectives are still not sure if they believe Nancy. They wonder, is Nancy Fillmore blinded by rage
and simply out for revenge? The detectives couldn't just take Nancy's word for it.
They had to really think about this. This is a person who hated Scott. She believed that he was a child abuser and a wife abuser.
She was the one who actually purchased the wine and the antifreeze. So they had to consider the possibility that this was her
committing this crime, not Cherrylle. And perhaps just being a jilted lover, she decided to point the blame at Cherrylle.
[suspenseful music] NANCY GRACE: Detectives execute a search warrant for Cherrylle
Dell and Nancy Fillmore's home. They find notes Cherrylle Dell wrote to herself while husband Scott was dying.
KEN LEPPERT: Handwritten notes from Cherrylle, written at the time of the conversation, that Scott was
consuming the wine, corroborating not only what Nancy told us but what Scott had authored on the other end
of that phone call. GINA GLAUB: The letters that were found at the scene could now be seen through a different light.
Scott is writing love letters to his wife. And unbeknownst to him, she's on the other end of the phone line,
encouraging him to drink poisoned wine. In reality, the whole scheme was a manipulation by Cherrylle.
And it was a murder plot, a brilliant one where she wouldn't even have to be in the same location.
NANCY GRACE: Detectives are now convinced, Scott Dell was murdered by his ex-wife, Cherrylle Dell.
They build a case against her over the next five months. They also become concerned that Nancy Fillmore,
who's their star witness, could be Cherrylle Dell's next victim. Because of Cherrylle's diabolical planning,
she left very little evidence of her crime. And so Nancy is the main piece of evidence against her.
She committed this crime remotely, so she wasn't at the scene. There's not going to be any forensics
to link her to this case. So Nancy becomes a very important witness. NANCY GRACE: Nancy is also aware and anxious about the target
on her own back. KIM MEISEL: She says, Kim, I'm not gonna make it to trial. She's gonna take me out.
I can't open my mouth. I'm dead. KEN LEPPERT: We were strongly recommending that she leave Killaloe.
We offered to pay for a move and to register Nancy in a witness protection program.
And Nancy did not want to look at witness protection until she was able to recover the property that Cherrylle
was holding on to. August 19, Nancy was successful in small claims court. She got a court order that allowed her access
to Cherrylle's house at 18 Mill Street to get back personal belongings. NANCY GRACE: Nancy Fillmore retrieves
her personal belongings from the home she shared with Cherrylle Dell. She seems ready to close that chapter of her life and move on.
KEN LEPPERT: When that sheriff's order was executed, Nancy returned to her home on Queen Street
and has a beer with a neighbor. I was called later that evening and told by the on-duty sergeant
at the OPP detachment that Nancy Fillmore's home was ablaze, that she was believed to be inside.
KIM MEISEL: Somebody came up and said to me, holy man, Kim, there's a big fire in Killaloe.
And I knew. I just-- I just knew. [suspenseful music] NANCY GRACE: Ontario, Canada detectives
are building a case against Cherrylle Dell for the murder of her husband at Christmastime two years earlier.
Police are worried Cherrylle Dell may try to kill the star witness, Nancy Fillmore.
They asked Nancy to enter a witness protection program. She refuses. And now, her home is burning to the ground.
Nancy Fillmore's home is on fire. And it's believed that she is inside, deceased.
The fire department have not been able to gain entry because of the advanced state of the fire.
DARCY NICOL: The suspicion at the time with the scene, it was that Nancy was having some drinks.
There was some candles, and the candles spilled over, and a fire ensued, and that she had been basically drinking
and passed out, and didn't get out in time. [fire crackling] KIM MEISEL: I remember driving in to Killaloe.
And all the fire trucks were there, and the police were there. And I saw Ken. And I'm like, why didn't you take her seriously?
She was afraid for her life. KEN LEPPERT: It was very difficult. I looked back, and I just--
I stumbled to describe it because it was very difficult for me. I know in my heart that we were not directly responsible for it,
but it's also difficult to not feel otherwise. ELSA STEENBERG: Nancy was becoming a problem for Cherrylle
because she had gone to the police. Nancy was to testify, so the timing was perfect for her
to be eliminated. Nancy Fillmore's remains are discovered in the house. Detectives are now investigating a double homicide.
GINA GLAUB: When Nancy's house burns down to the ground with her inside, the detectives
are fearful that this was Cherrylle's attempt to silence her. KEN LEPPERT: Nancy was our key witness.
The whole framework of our prosecution was no longer available to us. We had a fire marshal come in and conduct
a traditional investigation to determine the cause and point of origin of that fire.
We never found evidence to conclusively show that it was an arson. DWAYNE SEARS: I went to Nancy's postmortem examination.
The autopsy results was that she died of carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of inhaling the smoke.
NANCY GRACE: Police canvassed the area looking for witnesses. They also locate the whereabouts of their number
one suspect, Cherrylle Dell. DWAYNE SEARS: So, of course, our first thought is Cherrylle is involved in this.
And she tells us that she has an alibi, and she's telling us the truth. She did have an alibi about where she was physically.
NANCY GRACE: Cherrylle Dell is ruled out as the actual arsonist. But detectives wonder if she convinced
her latest lover, Brent Crawford, to set the fire. KEN LEPPERT: On the 20th, the day after the fire,
Brent was seen by myself outside of the fire scene watching our investigation. Brent had been seeing Cherrylle and staying at her house
throughout the summer of '97. [eerie music] The detectives bring Brent in for questioning,
and they ask him to take a polygraph test. KEN LEPPERT: He takes the polygraph exam, and he fails it.
That's not admissible evidence in a court of law in Canada. But it painted a very dark picture of Brent's involvement
in Nancy's death. The interrogation ended with Brent, being fully aware that we are looking at him as now,
a suspect in Nancy's death. GINA GLAUB: Because he wasn't under arrest and was free to leave, Brent exercised those rights
and took off. KEN LEPPERT: So Brent travels to BC early in 1998. And we list Brent as part of our Canadian police information
system that's available to all police officers across the country. NANCY GRACE: Brent Crawford is nowhere to be found.
Detectives focus on the Scott Dale murder investigation. GINA GLAUB: The detectives were very frustrated with a lack
of physical evidence. The circumstantial evidence against Cherrylle was all they really had left after losing Nancy as a witness.
KEN LEPPERT: We were going in any direction that we thought could provide evidence of how Scott died.
I went to the poison control center in the fall of 1997, spent a few days there, going through their hard copy records.
I find a very, very similar call in my estimation, too similar to be anything but that
call that Nancy reported to us. I can remember driving home from Ottawa when I found that poison
control record, on top of what Cherrylle had told me, on top of what Nancy had told me,
all of the physical evidence, the notes, and the postmortem examination. It was all coming together in a very powerful realization for me
that Cherrylle had killed Scott Dell. NANCY GRACE: Detective Ken Leppert gets a tip that Brent
Crawford has been spotted. KEN LEPPERT: I receive a phone call from an OPP officer.
Brent had come back into Ontario and was now hitchhiking across Northern Ontario on Highway
11 at approximately 3:00 AM. GINA GLAUB: The police acted brilliantly. When Detective Ken Leppert was informed that Brent was
hitchhiking, he sent his best undercover detective up to Northern Ontario. This detective actually picked Brent up as he was hitchhiking
along the side of the road. KEN LEPPERT: Our undercover officer picked Brent up, engaged in conversation.
And over the next three days, our undercover officer used covert techniques and strategies
that resulted in Brent confessing both setting the fire and eventually providing a handwritten confession.
DWAYNE SEARS: Brent told us that his original plan was to take a knife and to cut Nancy's throat.
But once he got inside, he sees the clutter. He sees Nancy asleep on the couch. He sees the candles on a stand.
And in his mind, the easiest way to kill Nancy is to append the candles and start a fire.
Brent told us that he had got $750 from Cherrylle. He was a 16-year-old kid who was physically involved with a lady
that was 42 years of age. So he would do anything for her. NANCY GRACE: Christmas 1997.
Justice finally catches up with Cherrylle Dell, two years after she kills her husband, Scott.
GINA GLAUB: Cherrylle Dell is arrested for the murder of Scott Dell on December 28, 1997, which is
two years exactly from the date that she murdered her husband. Three days after Christmas 1995,
Cherrylle Dell gives her unsuspecting husband Scott a gift of poisoned wine, and it leads to his death.
Exactly two years later, Cherrylle Dell is arrested for his murder. ELSA STEENBERG: I was in court the day that she was arrested,
and she seemed really surprised. And her mother was in court as well. And the mother also seemed really surprised.
They thought for sure, that there wasn't enough evidence. NANCY GRACE: Detectives are concerned they may not
have enough evidence if Nancy Fillmore's testimony is not admitted at trial. The best evidence would be a confession
from Cherrylle admitting to something in regards to Scott's death. So we got a list of individuals who had been in custody with her
and been bunkmates with her. And we started approaching those people. DARCY NICOL: Cherrylle remained in custody
while she was awaiting her trial, so she spent time in various different detention centers
across the province. Ken and Dwayne asked me if I would be willing to attend the detention centers to interview the inmates
that she had spent time with. Dwayne and I put thousands of miles on the vehicles.
We were all over the province. We were working four and five days a week, 14 to 15 hours a day.
So, you know, you get tired, you get frustrated, and then you find Brandy Cameron.
Brandy Cameron, who was Cherrylle's bunkmate, and Brandy was basically her protector inside.
So Cherrylle began to trust Brandy. And ultimately, Brandy told us that Cherrylle flat out
told her, I killed my husband. I put antifreeze in his wine. And Dwayne and I looked at each other and went,
did that just happen? Did that really just happen? Finally, after all of those thousands of miles,
something came through that's going to completely back up what Nancy's statement had said.
And it's an admissible statement by a bunkmate of Cherrylle's. ELSA STEENBERG: There was a lengthy trial.
It started out in Pembroke and moved to Ottawa. KEN LEPPERT: We went to trial in Ottawa, winter of 2001.
BRUCE MCINTYRE: Some of the residents were there from Killaloe. And they say something in the effect of, boy, she's
not wearing her leopard skin leggings today, is she? She's looking pretty plain.
She was being escorted in by a constable in full uniform, being taken by the elbow, and being led in handcuffs.
So it wasn't the glamor that she had. KEN LEPPERT: During the trial proper, Nancy Fillmore's statements, video and transcripts,
were thrown out. We could not use them or rely upon them as evidence in any way.
Her defense was that he killed himself. KEN LEPPERT: And we realized that this was gonna
be a fight right to the end. And it was. We didn't know what the outcome was gonna be.
I'm sitting there with Dwayne and other investigators. And the judge opens his comments by saying Scott
Dell did not commit suicide. [dramatic music] And you could just feel the adrenaline
because now, he's ruled out any argument the defense made. He concludes how he has no doubt that Cherrylle murdered Scott.
And when he said that, he said, I find you guilty of first degree murder. It's difficult for me to even talk about it.
And she was found guilty. It was a huge relief. ELSA STEENBERG: I thought I would feel really happy,
but everyone there cried. Everyone that was involved in the trial cried. It was such a senseless murder.
Cherrylle was sentenced to 25 years with no parole. ELSA STEENBERG: In Canada, a life sentence is 25 years.
I hope she never comes back to Killaloe. NANCY GRACE: Brent Crawford goes to trial a few months later,
April 2001. Brent Crawford is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life behind bars, with the possibility
of parole after 10 years. GINA GLAUB: Cherrylle Dell can really be compared to killers like Charlie Manson.
She was able to convince people to kill for her without getting her hands dirty.
She was a master manipulator and one of the most evil killers there is. Christmas for Scott's kids will always be remembered as the time
that they lost their father, a time where he was so eager to spend time with his family
and reunite. [dramatic music] KEN LEPPERT: He wanted that family model with Cherrylle
and her family to continue. He wanted that above anything. And she used all of this to design a plan, unlike any other,
to kill him. GINA GLAUB: His vulnerabilities were used against him, and he was manipulated.
And his death is so tragic because how much he really just wanted to be a family man.
The murders of Scott Dell and Nancy Fillmore are blanketed in the most picturesque of Christmas towns.
It's such a striking contrast between the good inside man at our most joyous time and the evil that
can lurk beneath the surface. I'm Nancy Grace. Thank you for joining us here on "The Christmas Killings."
[theme music]

Scott Dell is found deceased inside his own home. At first, it looks like he may have taken his life, but police are not so convinced.

Hosted by Nancy Grace, The Christmas Killings is a true crime docuseries that blends merry with mystery as it delves into holiday-season homicide investigations.

Brief Summary

Scott Dell's mysterious death leads to the arrest of his ex-wife Cherrylle for murder, revealing a dark Christmas plot.

Key points

A Mysterious Death. Scott Dell's life takes a dark turn after Christmas, leading to suspicion and fear in Killaloe.
The Shocking Autopsy Results. An autopsy reveals that Scott's death was not due to cancer but antifreeze poisoning.
Cherrylle's Manipulation. Cherrylle Dell's actions leading up to Scott's death raise questions about her intentions.
Cherrylle's Manipulation Unveiled. Detectives uncover Cherrylle's scheme to poison her husband while appearing innocent.
Nancy Fillmore's Tragic Fate. Nancy Fillmore's home burns down, and she is believed to be inside.
Brent's Dark Confession. Brent Crawford confesses to setting the fire that killed Nancy Fillmore.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

The whole thing was so unbelievable.

Elsa Steenberg expresses disbelief over Scott's death.

1:14WatchApr 17, 2025

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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